Short Interest in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Declines By 13.7%

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,018,256 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the February 26th total of 1,179,344 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 756,078 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In related news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 18,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $436,527.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,299 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,754.34. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.67, for a total value of $150,067.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,744.73. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,824 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,949. Corporate insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 125,535 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,070,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 543,290 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,013,000 after buying an additional 272,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 181,765 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 81,235 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

GNK stock opened at $22.11 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.32. Genco Shipping & Trading has a fifty-two week low of $11.20 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $957.59 million, a PE ratio of -200.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The shipping company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $109.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.52 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative return on equity of 0.12% and a negative net margin of 1.28%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,818.18%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company’s fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco’s focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.